Therapy

Matt surveyed the filled fruit and jam jars on the table last night and asked, "How are you enjoying your therapy, Melissa?" "My 'canning therapy'?" I queried back with a big smile on my face, "Oh, I've enjoyed it." My teaching Grace some lessons in home economics has been my thinly veiled excuse for my own pleasure, I'll admit it. Some people love gardening, I love canning. I didn't think I would be able to can at all this year. The combination of Matt's blessing and the cooler temperatures that prolonged the harvest provided me the opportunity and I seized it.

The process went something like this--nurse the baby while I talked Grace through the set up, get a canner load in the water bath, nurse the baby and start all over again. Elizabeth kept an eye on Paul, Lydia and Joel while Grace and I were working. I even taught Grace to make kuchen, the German coffee cake I loved as a kid. She's getting to be quite the sous chef.

We didn't "put up" as much fruit as we normally do, but going from zero expectation of having any canned fruit for winter, to having at least some jars grace the shelves is huge and I'm happy with what we accomplished. The house went to heck and we had to spend the day today playing catch up, but I got my much needed therapy.